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Patsy Farrar - The Open College of the Arts

To find out more details about the transfer to The Open University see A New Chapter for OCA.

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Patsy Farrar


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If you are currently on the level one Watercolour Practice course you might like to look at the work of Patsy Farrar, a student who has embraced the medium and has begun to use it with confidence. Watercolour is seen by some to be a difficult medium but the
best way to approach it is without trepidation. Although the friendliest and most responsive of media, once you understand its possibilities and peculiarities, watercolour often has a mind of its own and at times can appear uncontrollable. Despite this it is highly popular and is the amateur artist’s medium of choice. It can be used as a portable means of applying colour to sketches and being water-soluble is considerably more convenient than oil paint.
Patsy Farrar is already a serious user of sketchbooks. Her work for Assignment 4 of the Watercolour Course shows a breakthrough in understanding the possibilities of using the medium to its best advantage. The fluidity of the medium is its secret strength and when combined with courage and conviction the end results can be impressive.
Turner understood this well, as did Paul Klee. On the latter’s breakthrough trip to Tangiers he discovered colour and the means to become a painter. Watercolour and ink became his medium of choice and the possibilities of abstraction his way forward.
Similarly, Patsy’s work in her sketchbooks show this dialogue between the linear outline and the use of paint that enhances both to good effect. Colour becomes the primary means of expression while the paint application determines the degree of emotional involvement. In so doing the subject is reinterpreted, a new language is forged and the student gains in confidence. The picturesque villages of Surrey explode with colour and conviction, the church lychgate transformed into an expressionist statement. It almost seems as if the Blaue Reiter group has invaded the tranquillity of an English village.
On a trip to Paris, she records the view from the hotel room over the rooftops towards Montmartre, with the church of Sacré Coeur in the distance. The scene is first analysed through drawing and the composition revealed. Colour is then introduced and a spacial dimension established. The dialogue is between drawing and painting with the artist’s interpretation and response to the scene being paramount. A photograph is taken for reference but it takes imagination to transform a dull photograph into an artistic statement.
The difficulty often encountered by students is being able to change scale from sketchbook to A3 paper or larger. This not only applies to watercolour – and of course changing to larger brushes and using tubes instead of pans of watercolour can be an obvious solution. It is also important to feel the change and be able to scale up movements and proportion to accommodate the lager size paper.
It is through the act of painting and the language it employs that a topographical scene is transformed into a work of art. Patsy has discovered a rich language of colour, line and expression, which can be applied to any subject matter and is a useful tool for any representational painter.
However once discovered, the delight of using watercolour can be revealed, as in the work of this dedicated and talented OCA student.


Posted by author: James Cowan

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